You're So Dead
by alyssajoy64
Summary: Unfortunately for Alex, revenge doesn't always go as planned-especially when K-Unit's involved.
1. Chapter 1

**PLEASE READ: This story was written purely for my amusement. Please understand** **that I was neither going for, nor intending for this to be, a realistic scenario. Take it all with a grain a salt. **

**K-unit is back at BB for some brush-up training and MI6 has sent Alex to join them. They are currently involved a survival exercise in which they are to avoid capture by any means possible. They were given one day to plan and prepare for it.**

_As always, a huge thank you to my beta, Pygmymeese!_

* * *

><p><em>KA – Boom!<em>

An explosion rocked Brecon Beacons, sending all of the animals in the surrounding forest scurrying deeper into the woods. All the animals that is, except for a certain five. At the sight of the towering ball of flames rising above the trees, they stilled in shock and awe.

"Eagle, you are so dead," Fox whispered from the tree limb on which he was balancing on.

The dark-haired man's face grew pale in the moonlight as he twisted around to look at the rest of his unit. "It wasn't me!"

"K-UNIT!" They all winced as Sergeant Ryan's voice ripped through the night and reached their hiding place.

"I think we're all dead," a Scottish voice said dryly.

"Snake, shut up," Wolf snapped. "Eagle," he said, turning his dark glare onto the man next to him. "What. Did. You. Do!"

"Nothing, I swear!" the man insisted. "I put the standard amount in!"

"Well apparently you didn't if that fireball was anything to judge by," Fox said, his lips quirked to the side in an amused smile.

"Well if I didn't, it's Wolf's fault!" Eagle replied acidly. "If our oh-so-glorious leader hadn't insisted that I drop everything and pick up the paperwork at the sergeant's office –which wasn't even there, I might add– I wouldn't have messed up the delicate process."

"What the hell are you talking about, Eagle?" Wolf hissed. "We agreed that Snake would pick up the paperwork after breakfast, and besides, I haven't seen you all day. I've been too busy planning this bloody exercise which, by the way, we have now failed."

"Don't you try and pin this solely on me!" Eagle shrugged off the restraining hand Snake had placed on his shoulder. "You sent me on a wild goose chase this afternoon; you're just too much of a dick to admit it."

Wolf stepped forward, eyes narrowing dangerously. Standing almost nose to nose with the man, he thrust a grimy finger into the Eagle's chest. "Now you listen here_._ I did _nothing_ of the sort. And you know what? I think _you're_ the dick who just doesn't want to take any responsibility!"

Snake gave a small groan. "Really, guys? Come on. Let's raise the maturity of this conversation beyond a twelve-year-old level, yeah?" He pushed Wolf and Eagle a few centimeters apart, hoping to reduce the probability of a physical conflict.

Fox lithely jumped down from his perch and stopped next to Wolf. He knew just as well as Snake that things could quickly escalate between the two hot-headed members of their unit. "Tell us exactly what happened, Eagle; maybe we can get this misunderstanding figured out."

"What is there to tell?" Eagle snapped. "I was working on the trip wire trap just as Wolf here told me to, when Cub came in and told me…" The man's eyes widened in realization. "…that you wanted me to pick up the papers."

The four men froze at the dawning of this new information; then, like four puppets on the same string, they slowly turned to where the unorthodox fifth member of their team leaned lazily against a tree.

Cub, who had been listening in with glee to the conversation, quickly smoothed the smirk off his face and dropped his gaze to the ground as they swung around. After a few moments, he lifted his eyes again and, raising a fair eyebrow, pretended to be surprised to see four SAS men staring at him with varying degrees of anger. At that moment, he was thankful for the poker face his uncle had pounded into him as a child.

"Cub." Wolf took a step towards him, his voice dangerously soft. "You messed with the trap, didn't you?"

The teen met his glare unflinchingly. "Don't be daft, Wolf. You know I'm not allowed around the explosives."

"Then why did you tell me I needed pick up the paperwork?" Eagle growled.

Cub threw up his hands in exasperation. "I'm sorry for trying to help, alright? I heard Wolf talking about them this morning and figured I'd save him some work by picking them up myself. However, since I'm not officially SAS," he accented the last two words with air quotes, "they wouldn't let me. So I got Eagle to do it."

"We'd already decided that Snake would do it."

Cub fixed their unit leader with a cold stare. "Well, seeing as I'm not really included in those conversations, I wouldn't know, now would I?" Inwardly, he smirked as the four men began to look slightly uncomfortable. "Besides, give Eagle a break. Magnesium is temperamental stuff." From the various looks on the soldiers' faces, it looked as if they were going to relent, but then he saw something. Something that told him he was very wrong.

Up until that moment, Eagle had been frowning down at his boot, intensely pondering the situation at hand. When Cub had mentioned magnesium, his brows had furrowed even deeper before popping up in an obvious light bulb moment. He then looked up at the teen, a slow, chilling smile forming on his lips. "Say, Cubby." Eagle sauntered over to him, slinging an arm around the boy's shoulder.

Oh, this was bad. This was very bad.

"Now, how did you know I was using magnesium?" The man's voice was light and joking, but there was no mistaking the underlying dangerousness of his tone. "I could've been using aluminum oxide or potassium perchlorate. In fact, I think those would've been more probable, don't you?"

Cub mentally kicked himself. He should've stopped while he was ahead. But nooo, he had to go try and sound smart. He was treading in very dangerous waters now; he could see it in their eyes. They were watching him like predators who had worked their prey into a corner, licking their lips and waiting for the kill. "L-Lucky guess?" he said weakly.

The men chuckled darkly, and Cub swallowed nervously as they all began to close in on him. He would be backing up, but Eagle's arm was still locked around his shoulder, holding him tight. He knew was dead. K-Unit would kill him. He could see it now; Wolf and Eagle would fight like dogs over who'd get the first shot, then Fox would join in the fun while Snake stood by and shook his head despondently. Unless…

Cub suddenly stood to attention, staring over the soldiers' shoulder, eyes widening in what looked like fear. "Sarge?"

The reaction was immediate. Faces paling, the men spun around to face their commanding officer. It was all the distraction Cub needed. He slammed his heel down on Eagle's foot, causing the man to give a pain-filled shout and release his grip. By the time the other three spun back around, Cub was already gone, crashing off into the forest in the opposite direction.

Wolf roared and tore after him. "CUB! YOU ARE _SO_ DEAD!"

* * *

><p><strong>Please let me know what you think!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, folks, I was planning on this being a one shot, but I got such a great response from you that I thought I'd expand it a little more.**

**Thank you for all of your reviews/favoriting/alerting; it meant a lot to me! Special shout-out goes to Se7enFreaker for their encouraging PM. :)**

**Thanks, too, to my super-beta and grammar-perfecter, pygmymeese!**

* * *

><p>"It really is a lovely evening."<p>

"Couldn't agree more, Snake," Fox said, dropping five ration packets into a pot sitting on the single-burner camp stove. "It almost makes me miss our training days when we had weekly night excursions." There was a snort from the other side of the pot, courtesy of Wolf, to which Fox responded with a half-hearted glare. "I said I _almost_."

"Whatever you say, Fox," Snake said, relaxing back against his pack. "Nothing could make me miss those months of hell."

Wolf grunted in agreement, rubbing his face with his arm in a futile attempt to get rid of some of the day's grime.

The group sat in silence for a minute before Fox spoke up again. "Where'd Eagle go?"

Wolf shrugged. "Went to take a leak. Don't know why it would take him so bloody long to water a bush, though."

This last statement was followed by a brief moment of silence. Eventually, Snake spoke up. "Do you think that maybe we should let Cub, you know…" He gestured abstractly, not completely comfortable with the question.

Wolf shook his head. "Leave him be. He more than likely got it all out of his system with the four of us chasing after him."

The men chuckled, Wolf's statement bringing their thoughts back the events of the last few hours.

"His face when you popped out of the bush and tackled him, Fox." Snake kissed the tip of his fingers like a proud Italian chef. "I would pay to have a video of that."

"I dunno, Snake." Fox gave a wolfish grin. "I think his reaction to our glorious leader pulling out the rope might top that."

There was a low grumble from somewhere in the nearby dark, turning their chuckles into full-out laughter.

"Oi." Eagle materialized from out the tree line. "You lot haven't eaten all the food yet, have you?"

Wolf rolled his eyes, a ghost of a smile still playing on his lips. "Yes, Eagle, because shoveling freeze-dried meatloaf into my face really sounds that appetizing." Eagle scowled at him, but Wolf was unaffected. "Where have you been, anyway?"

"Berry picking," the soldier said simply. He held up several long stems that were laden with bright red berries. "Thought you might like to add another color besides grey and brown to your diet."

"You sure those are safe to eat, mate?" Fox asked, frowning slightly.

Eagle looked offended. "Of course I'm sure. I can't remember their name, but I do remember seeing them in our wildlife manual as safe." He gave each of his fellow team members a stem, ignoring their wary looks. "I got one for Cub, too."

The four soldiers smiled self-satisfyingly to themselves at the mention of their youngest team member, reminiscing triumphantly on the battle won that day.

_You just had to go there, didn't you, Alex?_ _I guess the luck of the devil is moot when Wolf's around, eh?_

_I really wish we would've gone with my idea. The sneaky little bugger would never mess with my explosives again._

_Thank God Wolf didn't actually kill him. I really thought he was going to for a minute there…_

_Serves the brat right. Now let's see him try to kick my butt out of an airplane._

The moment dissolved as Wolf gagged on the berry he'd put into his mouth. He spit it out, the little, mushed berry flying through the air and landing on some ferns. "What the hell, Eagle; these are nasty!"

"Oh, stop being such a baby, Wolf." Eagle picked one off of Cub's stem and dropped it into his mouth. "After you eat a handful or two, it's not so bad."

Snake looked at his own bunch curiously. "Just how many of these have you eaten?"

Eagle shrugged. "I had a stem or three before I came back." He shoved two more in his mouth.

Wolf still didn't look convinced. He stared at the berries as if they might turn into little red, raging monsters and bite him. Snake sighed in resignation and slowly ate one. His face screwed up in disgust, but he reluctantly swallowed. "Come on, Wolf," he said. "They're good nutrients and we'll need some for the long trek back tomorrow."

Wolf gave a small groan at the thought of it. "At least we can't get binned," he said. That was little comfort to the unit, though, for hell hath no fury like Sergeant Ryan scorned–or almost blown up.

"How bad you think it'll be, Wolf?" Eagle asked through a mouth full of Cub's berries.

The man shrugged. "I figure we'll probably get a thorough dressing down, and then we'll have to do the exercise again in month– hopefully _sans _a certain teenager." He shot a glare out into the dark forest to his right.

"Speaking of which," Fox said, giving a small grin, "we should probably feed him, don't you think?"

"I don't know, Fox." Eagle scrunched his forehead as if pondering the suggestion, then shook his head. "I say we split his ration four ways. The sneaky little bugger can wait until morning."

The men exchanged wicked grins at the muffled shouting that came in response to that statement.

Snake carried on the torment, lazily stretched out his legs and patted his stomach. "Nah, I couldn't eat another bite after all of those berries. We should just get rid of it."

"What do you say, Wolf?" Fox turned to their leader and raised a brow. "Should we let the kid go hungry?"

The man acted as if he were seriously considering it for a moment before finally relenting. "No," he growled. "But only because I don't want to have to drag his butt back to camp tomorrow." Fox nodded and started to turn away. "And Fox?" Fox turned back to see a malicious twinkle in his unit leader's eye. "He stays as is."

At that, Fox broke into a wide grin. Cub was close enough to have heard everything, meaning the teen was undoubtedly fuming at what Wolf had just implied. "Roger that, Wolf." He shot his unit a wink before digging the last tin ration pouch out of the pot, swiping what was left of the berries, and waltzing off through the trees.

He came to a large tree that stood about ten feet away from where they were had settled for the night. In the half-moonlight, a small figure appeared to be leaning against trunk, but Fox knew that wasn't the case. Cub was in fact _tied_ to the tree. K-Unit had thoroughly trussed him up after catching him, wrapping their thick rappelling rope around both teen and tree from his ankles to his shoulders. With the army-style knots that held it in place, it was clear that Cub wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

"Hey, Cub!" Fox's white teeth flashed in the dark as he broke into an obnoxiously large smile. "How're you holding up?" The teen glared at him, but there was no response. The man pretended to be puzzled for a moment before his eyes lit up in supposed sudden realization. "I should probably take that out, huh?" He reached forward and plucked a sock of questionable cleanliness out of the boy's mouth.

"About bloody time," Cub growled, spitting out the remaining tufts of lint. "This is technically child abuse, you know."

"Nonsense! Just think of this as being in a time-out corner."

Cub's eyes narrowed. "You weren't held much as a child, were you?"

"No," Fox countered, "I just wasn't a teenage super spy who liked to blow things up _and _get caught after doing it. Now," he said, lifting the steaming army ration packet up to Cub's sight, "I brought dinner!"

There was a moment of silence as they stood looking at each other before Cub finally snapped, "Well, are you gonna let me eat or what?"

Fox raised a brow. "You heard what Wolf said."

Cub scowled at the smattering of snickers behind them. "Fine, then I'm not eating."

"C'mon, Cub…" the teen's scowl deepened as Fox dropped into a voice strictly reserved for picky eaters and children under the age of two. "Eagle picked the berries just for you!"

"No."

"You're going to need the energy for tomorrow."

"Shove off, Fox."

"CUB!" Wolf's voice, echoing that of the sergeant's from early that day, ripped through the trees to reach them. "EAT THE FOOD. THAT'S AN ORDER!"

Cub's eyes flashed dangerously, and the thought that the teen might murder them all in their sleep sometime soon briefly crossed Fox's mind.

"Yes, mother," Cub grated out.

The snickering turned to howls of laughter, which were quickly followed by a yelp of pain and muffled snorting.

And with that, the feeding process began.

Whether Fox made it intentionally difficult (the three times he managed to 'accidentally' get meatloaf up Cub's nose were highly suspicious) or whether he was just that awful at that particular parenting skill, Cub would never know. He, with great damage to his pride, went along with it until the man began making airplane engine noises with his mouth.

"Here comes the plane!" The spoon zoomed towards the teen's mouth but failed to make it due to unforeseen engine failure– namely melting in the fiery glare that was suddenly shooting through its airspace.

"Fox," Alex's voice was dangerously soft. "When I get out of these ropes, I assure you that I am going to mutilate you very slowly and with great, _great_ pleasure."

Fox chuckled despite the probability that some, if not all, of that statement was true. He would worry more when the teen was actually able to chase him, but right now he was enjoying himself a little too much to care.

"And now, dessert! I call it _berries a la Eagle_." Fox held up the cluster of red berries.

For a moment, the soldier could've sworn he saw something like mirth flash through Cub's eyes, but it was gone so quick that he couldn't be sure.

"I think I'll pass, Fox."

A subtle change in Cub's voice made the man narrow his eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because Eagle's an idiot."

"Hey!" Eagle could be heard protesting from the campsite.

Fox's mouth quirked. "Please tell me you didn't just figure that out now, Cub, or I might have to question your observation skills."

"Fox!" Eagle's cry of indignant disbelief was almost drowned out by Snake and Wolf's guffawing.

Cub shook his head, ignoring them. "Besides, I don't want your grimy fingers anywhere near my mouth."

"Well, fine." Fox sniffed and assumed an air of mock hurt. "I can tell when I'm not wanted." He started back towards their campsite, calling a casual "G'night, Cub!" over his shoulder while eating some of the unwanted berries.

"Wait! You're not just going to leave me here, are you?" Cub asked, failing miserably at trying not to sound too concerned. He got no answer from Fox, and, to make matters worse, he could hear them all chuckling and whispering together in the campsite.

"See you in a few hours, Cubby!" Eagle chirped.

"C'mon, guys! You can't leave me tied to a tree all night!"

All the response he got was the sound of two tent zippers sliding down and then back up again as their occupants closed them for the night.

"I hate you all."

This elicited another burst of laughter from the group, which eventually died off, leaving Cub alone in the dark. With a sigh, he rested his head back against the bark and tried to get comfortable. _They at least could've tied me in a sitting position_, he grumbled. He didn't let himself dwell on his miseries too long, though. Vengeance was coming, and he didn't even have to do anything. Eagle had done it all by himself.

In his mind, he went back to the page of his wildlife manual that had pictures and information on the edible wild vegetation in the surrounding area. It was quite unfortunate for K-Unit that Eagle couldn't remember the name of those berries. It was true that the berries were edible–heck, they even had some medicinal qualities–but it was not exactly the ones they were expecting.

_Not the ones they're expecting at all._

Cub smiled wickedly as he remembered the description.

_Guelder Rose – This shrubbery is common in Southern Britain and has clusters of white flowers in the spring and bright red berries in the summer. The berries, slightly bitter in taste, have been known to act as a natural laxative…_

_I'll be seeing you a lot sooner than you think, Eagle. I guarantee it. _

And with that comforting thought, Alex Rider settled himself for what was going to be a long, yet thoroughly enjoyable, night.

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Cake? Review?<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**You all have been so awesome about reviewing and so persistent for me to continue, that I did. I couldn't figure out where to go if I continued, hence the long time between the last chapter and this one, and I finally realized that the problem was I was trying to keep it a comedy, which really wouldn't be possible given the circumstance. Just be forewarned that the mood in this chapter has changed from the last. **

**I don't own Alex Rider.**

* * *

><p>Brecon Beacons might as well have been a reform school for prissy, fifteen-year old girls for as fast as the gossip traveled in that place. By now, everyone knew the story – or at least a <em>version<em> of the story – of what happened to K-Unit on their overnight hike.

The favored account at the moment was that the Green Jackets had launched a surprise attack during the night, kidnapping Cub to lure the rest of K-Unit out of their tents. Once they had come to investigate, they'd been gassed with noxious fumes while the Green Jackets had raided, stolen a trophy (some even ventured to say the extra pair of Wolf's boxers), and left.

The more veteran soldiers refuted that claim. Nothing like that had ever happened before, and the Green Jackets simply _did not_ cross into SAS territory unless they wanted to start a divisional war. No, if you asked them, it came down to that brat that K-Unit had been saddle with ever since their training. The queerest stuff happened around that kid, who was undeniably a spook through and through.

Whatever actually had happened, all they knew for sure is that the search party had dragged four pale, shaking K-Unit members to the infirmary early that afternoon, while the brat – with a ghost of a smirk on his face – had followed in close behind, looking quite _not-_sick, and had been taken immediately to the Sergeant's quarters.

They were currently placing bets of just how much of the kid would be left when all of this was over.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

Sergeant Ryan glared out the window of his office at the men who were discreetly trying to hover in the general vicinity in an attempt to eavesdrop. He mentally took their names down in his head so he could remember to assign them punishment duty later, and then the curtain. Turning slowly on his heels, he eyed the man – the _boy_ – who was quickly becoming the bane of his existence. The boy stood at attention in the center of the room, eyes straight ahead, though still looking too comfortable for the Sergeant's taste given the circumstances. He would have to fix that. In three large steps, he covered the space between them and positioned himself so his mouth was level with the teen's ear. "Cub!" he shouted, causing the blonde to give a little start. "Would you care to explain the events of these past two days to me?"

"Sir, yes sir! Yesterday at approximately 5:07, I woke up before the rest of my unit. At 5:13, I left the tent for the toilet, at which point you ordered me to take a lap around the lake for 'lurking suspiciously,' sir, after which I joined my unit-"

"That's not what I asked, soldier!"

"Sorry, sir! I'm unsure which events you are referring to, sir!"

The Sergeant felt his eye twitch ever so slightly as he took a step back. Cub's gaze had never once left the opposite wall, and his face was perfectly emotionless. Nevertheless, there was decidedly smug air that radiated from him that grated the Sergeant. The brat had four days left, and he swore then and there that they would be the worst four days of his life.

"I am referring to the explosion that nearly destroyed one of my jeeps," he spat. "Not to mention the rather..._unusual_...circumstances your unit was found in this afternoon." He crossed to his desk and opened a manila folder that lay on top of a mess of papers. "According to the report, the retrieval team found the other four members of your unit in various stages of dehydration, incapacitated with severe stomach cramps and uncontrollable bowel movements, while you were..." At this point he looked up again, raising an eyebrow, "...tied to a tree. So please, Cub, _enlighten me_."

"Yes sir. I seemed to have added too much magnesium to the flare when helping Eagle construct it, and my unit was not pleased, sir!"

"So they tied you to a tree?"

There was a pause, then, "Wolf is known for his temper, sir."

"Only when properly provoked. And _you_, Cub, provoke him." This received no response, and the Sergeant pressed no further. "Perhaps you can tell me how your fellow unit-members ended up violently ill, then. I'm not hesitant to blame it on you; however, seeing how you were indisposed, I'm intrigued by how you did it."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Cub's face, but was gone again as quickly as it had come. "You give me too much credit, sir. Your men are far too good at tying knots to allow any retaliation on my part. I'm afraid they took care of that themselves, sir."

A low growl emanated from the Sergeant's throat. "Explain."

"According to page 223 in our Wildlife Guide book, sir, the berry from the Guelder Rose bush, although edible, are mildly toxic, causing vomiting and diarrhea if-"

"-Eaten in large quantities," the Sergeant finished for him angrily. "I'm well aware of the effects of the Guelder Rose berry, Cub. My question is why you didn't think it necessary to warn the rest of your unit before they consumed them."

Cub's eyes finally flicked from the wall down to meet the Sergeant's gaze. "Experience is a brutal but effective teacher, sir. I guarantee that they will never make that mistake again."

"And you thought it was your job to teach them?" the Sergeant snapped. "Not only was that an incredibly stupid move with the magnesium, but you put the lives of your teammates on the line for the sake of your pride! If the retrieval team had failed to find you in a timely manner, you all could have ended up dead, Cub!" Cub was still staring at him, but any sense of smugness had evaporated from the teen. "There is no room for that type of behavior in the SAS – it will only get you killed."

The man sat down heavily behind his desk. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again, his voice quieter, but still laced with anger. "You will have kitchen duty for the remainder of your time here as well as another hour tacked onto your daily fitness regimen. I will be writing Director Blunt, too, suggesting that you return in two months to redo the training exercise with K-Unit. In the meantime, Cub, I would advise you to work on your teamwork skills. Am I understood?"

Cub's jaw clenched. "Yes sir."

"Good, now get out of my office."

"Yes sir." The teen gave a stiff salute.

As the door clicked shut behind him, the Sergeant grudgingly began typing an email out to Blunt, pounding each key a little harder than necessary. _Only 7 more years till retirement_, he thought with a sigh.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Alex headed back to the hut after he left the Sergeant's office. His walk was stiff, his head held high, but that did nothing to displace the growing sense of guilt at his actions. The Sergeant was right. He had been angry that K-Unit tended to treat him poorly because of his age – thereby damaging his pride – but he had only proved them right by failing to tell them about the berries.

He slammed the door to the hut behind him and sank down on his bed with a sigh. Life was so much easier when he had only himself to worry about. He supposed he'd have to apologize to them at some point, which would be positively mortifying, but he would be mature enough to own up to mistakes when he saw them.

Settling back, arms crossed beneath his head, he closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.

He was woken what seemed like not a minute later by a large hand wrapping itself in the front of his shirt and yanking him off the bed. His eyes snapped open just in time to see the floor rising rapidly to meet his face, and the air rushed from his lungs as he met it without any resistance. Alex quickly hauled himself to his hands and knees, trying to suck in enough air to relieve the ache in his chest.

"Well, well, well… look who we found."

His eyes snapped up to see two men standing over him, though the darkness that had fallen during the hours he was asleep obscured their faces. He knew they were recruits – he had heard it in the arrogance in the man's voice – but he had no idea what they were doing here.

"Of course you found me; this is my unit's hut, you idiot," he snapped. He started to get to his feet, but the man who had thrown him to the floor decided to help him up – by his hair.

Alex had to keep from grimacing in pain as it felt like his hair was being torn out by the roots, and he quickly twisted the man's arm up and off of his head. The man growled and let him go, but the other quickly grabbed Alex and twisted his arm up and behind him until his eyes started watering.

He tried to yank out of the man's grip, but his opponent had to weigh twice as much as him with at least twice as much muscle. "What do you want?" he gritted out.

"Heard what you told the Sergeant," the man who was holding him said in his ear. "We thought it was time someone showed you your place."

"Who do you think you are? A bloody kid coming in here and making one of our best units look like fools?" the first man had now stepped right up in his face, much like the Sergeant had earlier that day. "I think you're the one that needs to be taught a lesson."

Alex was unprepared for the fist that slammed into his stomach, sending shockwaves through his ribs and spine. He tried to double over, but had to stop as felt the tendons in his shoulder stretched unnaturally.

"Make sure not to hit him the face," the other man hissed.

"Oh I won't," the man chuckled, his fingers digging into Alex's chin as he lifted the teen's head. "That's all Pretty Boy has going for him." Clenching and unclenching his jaw, Alex worked up a ball of spit and spat it in the man's face. The man blinked, then drew back a bit, wiping off the spittle. "Oh you're going to pay for that, Pretty Boy." Alex felt a thrill of fear go through him at the look in the man's eyes – there was something decidedly unstable about it.

Screw his pride; he needed help, and he needed it now.

He opened his mouth to shout, but nothing more than a wheeze came out as he was hit again. And again.

By the fifth punch, the man holding him was getting antsy. "That's enough, Jackal," he hissed.

"Shut up, I'm not done!"

"C'mon, man-"

The rest of what he said was lost on Alex, who, through blurred and fading vision, caught sight of movement in the dark hut over Jackal's shoulder. Then a light flicked on, blinding him completely.

"What the _hell_ is going on in here?"

The hand that had his arm pinned behind his back – and had subsequently been holding him up – let go, allowing Alex to collapse to his knees curl into his bruised abdomen.

Jackal turned around, seemingly unperturbed about getting caught. "Wolf," he tilted his head in acknowledgement, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. "Me and Pretty Boy here were just having a little conversation."

Alex grunted as a boot caught him in the thigh, but was too busy trying to breath to look up.

"You always let your fists do the talking, Jackal?"

"If it's the best way to get the message across. Experience is a brutal but effective teacher." The man's hand wrapped itself in his hair again, jerking his head up to look at him. "Isn't that right, Cub?"

Wolf was there in an instant, shoving him away. "Don't touch him again."

Jackal tilted his head a bit. "I would think you wouldn't mind seeing him roughed up a bit after what he did to you."

"Well you don't know me and you sure as hell don't know our Code of Honor. You never, _ever _lay a hand a kid, you understand?"

Jackal scoffed and looked away. "Sure, Wolf."

"Good. Consider that your last lesson here at Brecon Beacons, because I promise you that by this time tomorrow night, I'll make sure that that you've not only been kicked out from Selection, but blacklisted from every military division in the country." Wolf shoved the man again, sending him stumbling towards the door. "Now get out of my damn hut. You too, Cobra."

The second man, who had stood by in silence, hurried out the door. Jackal, after shooting one last glare at Alex, followed stiffly behind him.

There was a deep sigh, and Alex heard footsteps approaching him from his somewhat huddle position on the floor. A whiff of hospital antiseptic reached his nose as Wolf crouched down next to him. "Where are you hurt?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm fine," Alex mumbled, not willing to look up and let him see the flush of embarrassment that had spread across his cheeks.

"Shut up and let me take a look at you." Wolf gave him a small shove in the shoulder, sending him backwards onto his butt. He was about to protest, but decided against it when he saw the look in the man's eye. It was absolutely chilling, but in a way somehow different from Jackal.

Wolf lifted Alex's shirt just enough to catch a glimpse of the patchwork of bruises that was quickly forming before dropping it again. "It looks like you might have a few cracked ribs, if those bruises are anything to go by. We should get you to the med barracks – probably won't be able to do much about it, but at least they can give you some pain meds or something." He stood up and then grabbed Alex's arm, pulling him to his feet with a rough sort of gentleness.

He avoided the man's eyes and tried to hide his grimaces as best as he could as Wolf pulled one of Alex's arms up and over his shoulder and supported him to the door and down the steps. Neither spoke as they made their way slowly through the inky night. For his part, Alex was too busy trying not to moan as each step jolted his ribs than to try and speak.

A nurse caught site of them as they entered the med barracks, and she quickly grabbed Alex's other arm and helped Wolf support him to a cot in the corner. As soon as Alex was lying down, Wolf muttered something to the nurse and, without another glance at Alex, turned and disappeared back into the night.

A couple of pain pills where shoved into his hand, along with a class of water, and he absently swallowed them. The nurse left him a few minutes later with a promise that the doctor would see him soon, and Alex was left alone to ponder in the dark.

* * *

><p><strong>I will be writing a final chapter to this as soon as I get a chance. In the meantime, please let me know your thoughts!<strong>


End file.
